Few options for affordable housing in Dana Point

Leticia Soto, center, is the apartment manager for the Coffield affordable living complex in Dana Point. She resides there with her five children: Bobbi, 15, left, Diego, 3, Michael, 6, Jaqueline and a fifth not shown.JOSHUA SUDOCK, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

There's no sign proclaiming the name of the apartment complex on Domingo Avenue. But the residents who live there know the name and the legacy behind Coffield Apartments. Opened in 1983, the affordable housing complex has offered refuge to lower-income residents since before the city incorporated.

The apartments are named for Monsignor John Coffield – a longtime priest who worked at San Felipe de Jesus Catholic Church in Doheny Village. Coffield, an advocate for the poor, worked with Allen Baldwin and the Orange County Community Housing Corp. to get the affordable housing unit established, said Laticia Soto, the complex manager. Coffield died in 2005.

Photo-covered walls trace a family history in his small, cozy apartment. Located just off of Pacific Coast Highway, the sound of freeway traffic provides endless background noise. It isn't much, but if it weren't for the Coffield Apartments, Jesus Toscano wouldn't have a home.

Toscano has lived in the affordable housing unit in Doheny Village since the complex opened in 1983. Nearly 20 years later, the complex remains one of few resources available to lower-income residents in Dana Point.

Affordable housing is a vexing issue across Orange County, especially for affluent coastal cities such as Dana Point. And while housing development goals are established every seven or so years, many cities – Dana Point included – consistently fall short of meeting housing needs.

As the city works to update its housing element for the 2014-21 period, Dana Point officials are left to figure out how to provide more affordable housing in a place such as Dana Point that has a median home price of $539,000, according to DataQuick statistics.

A VALUABLE RESOURCE

State law requires cities to develop housing plans to accommodate current and future housing needs for all income levels. But like many cities in California, Dana Point has a limited number of options when it comes to providing affordable housing.

The Coffield Apartments were built in 1983 by the Orange County Community Housing Corp., which also maintains affordable housing complexes in Newport Beach and Santa Ana. Even then it was a challenge to establish the affordable housing complex, said Allen Baldwin, executive director for the corporation. They had to piecemeal the land together with four separate parcels they purchased, he said.

Since it opened, all 24 units in the complex have been consistently filled, Baldwin said. And the moment a unit opens up, someone is waiting to take it. The complex averages 15 to 20 people on its waitlist, said apartment manager Laticia Soto.

Soto moved into one of the units three years ago after her husband lost his job, and they had to give up their Mission Viejo house. A mother of five, she became the complex manager a little more than a year ago. Soto said the affordable housing is a resource that allows people and their families to survive, especially in an expensive town like Dana Point.

Rosa Velasco's family is one of them. A single mother of three, Velasco said she was staying in the living room of her sister's trailer with her children when she got approved for the affordable housing complex.

Access to housing has given her better resources to raise her children, something that is particularly important as her 26-year-old daughter has a mental disability, she said. Velasco will take care of her daughter for the rest of her life and with better housing she can offer her more, she said.

But there's not enough affordable housing in Dana Point to provide other families with that same opportunity.

'TOUGH NUT TO CRACK'

City Manager Doug Chotkevys said the problem is that the land in this built-out coastal city is so expensive, it discourages developers.

"I've met with affordable housing companies – profit and nonprofit – over the years since I've been in Dana Point. The problem is that the land is too valuable; they can't afford to acquire it," he said.

Leticia Soto, center, is the apartment manager for the Coffield affordable living complex in Dana Point. She resides there with her five children: Bobbi, 15, left, Diego, 3, Michael, 6, Jaqueline and a fifth not shown. JOSHUA SUDOCK, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Jesus Toscano, 78, has resided at Coffield Apartments in Dana Point with his wife since 1984. They love it there. It is home. Toscano speaks passionately and in great detail about the complex's founder and namesake. JOSHUA SUDOCK, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Coffield Apartments' namesake Monsignor John V. Coffield. JOSHUA SUDOCK, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Jesus Toscano, 78, has resided at Coffield Apartments in Dana Point with his wife since 1984. They love it there. It is home. Toscano speaks passionately and in great detail about the complex's founder and namesake Rev. Msgr. John V. Coffield, his family reverend. He even has a book that chronicles the life and achievements of Coffield. JOSHUA SUDOCK, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Rosa Velasco, 46, has lived at Coffield Apartments in Dana Point for 16 years. JOSHUA SUDOCK, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Rosa Velasco, 46, lives at Coffield Apartments in Dana Point with her three children and is very proud to be able to give them bedrooms they love. JOSHUA SUDOCK, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Rosa Velasco, 46, lives at Coffield Apartments in Dana Point with her three children and is very proud to be able to give them bedrooms they love. JOSHUA SUDOCK, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

1 of

User Agreement

Keep it civil and stay on topic. No profanity, vulgarity, racial
slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about
tragedies will be blocked. By posting your comment, you agree to
allow Orange County Register Communications, Inc. the right to
republish your name and comment in additional Register publications
without any notification or payment.